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A bust of legendary Armenian duduk player Jivan Gasparyan was unveiled at Yerevan’s Komitas Pantheon on the first anniversary of his death on July 6.

The musician, dubbed “Master of the Duduk”, passed away in the U.S. in 2021 at the age of 92. He was buried at the Yerevan pantheon on July 24.

The bust is authored by sculptor Aleksan Babayan.

Born in Solak, Armenia, to parents from Mush, Gasparyan started to play duduk when he was six. In 1948, he became a soloist of the Armenian Song and Dance Popular Ensemble and the Yerevan Philharmonic Orchestra. He won four medals at UNESCO worldwide competitions. In 1973 Gasparyan was awarded the honorary title People's Artist of Armenia received the WOMEX (World Music Expo) Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002. In 2006 he was nominated for Grammy awards for the Best Traditional World Music Album.

He toured the world several times with a small ensemble playing Armenian folk music. His music has been chosen on the soundtrack of several international films.

He collaborated with many artists, such as Sting, Peter Gabriel, Hossein Alizadeh, Erkan Oğur, Michael Brook, Brian May, Lionel Richie, Derek Sherinian, Ludovico Einaudi, Luigi Cinque, Boris Grebenshchikov, Brian Eno, David Sylvian, Hans Zimmer and Andreas Vollenweider.

He also recorded with the Kronos Quartet and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.